# Plain Language Summary: Let Pregnancy Centers Serve Act of 2024

This bill clarifies that states can use federal welfare money to fund pregnancy centers and similar organizations that help pregnant women choose to have their babies instead of getting abortions. The money comes from the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) program, which is the main federal welfare program that helps low-income families. According to the bill, states have actually been doing this since 2001, and at least four states currently spend millions of dollars annually this way. The bill says this use of funds is allowed because helping pregnant women stay independent and support their families aligns with the original purpose of the welfare program.

The bill spells out what kinds of services these pregnancy centers can provide using welfare funds. This includes counseling on pregnancy and parenting, help connecting people to health services and housing, job training and placement assistance, classes on life skills and financial management, and providing supplies like car seats, cribs, diapers, and baby formula. The bill specifically excludes organizations that provide or refer people for abortions from receiving this funding.

The bill also adds legal protections for pregnancy centers and states that fund them. It says the federal government cannot discriminate against or treat unfairly any organization that refuses to provide abortion services or any state that contracts with such organizations. If someone believes the federal government has violated these protections, they can sue in court to stop the discrimination and recover money damages, and the federal government cannot claim immunity from these lawsuits. This provision appears to be a response to a proposed rule from the Biden Administration in 2023 that the bill's supporters say would have restricted funding to pregnancy centers.

Let Pregnancy Centers Serve Act of 2024

Smith, Christopher H.

Let Pregnancy Centers Serve Act of 2024This bill explicitly authorizes states to use Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) funding to carry out programs that encourage patients to carry their pregnancies to term rather than seek abortions. Under current law, states have broad authority to use TANF funds as they see fit to accomplish any of the program’s four purposes, including to prevent and reduce out-of-wedlock pregnancies.&nbsp;The bill also prohibits the federal government from subjecting entities receiving TANF funds to disparate treatment because they encourage patients to carry their pregnancies to term, or because they do not provide, assist, or counsel in favor of abortion. Similarly, the federal government may not subject states contracting with such entities to disparate treatment. Under the bill, disparate treatment includes presumed ineligibility for TANF funds or presumed failure to satisfy the purposes of the program. The Department of Justice, a state, or an entity adversely affected by a violation of these provisions may bring suit in civil court for appropriate relief, including money damages. Federal officials may not invoke sovereign immunity as a defense to such a suit. &nbsp;